Violet is Blue (Hothouse series) (5 page)

“Wow,” Ivy said, “That’s sexy.”

“I don’t know how I feel about it.”

Dahlia picked up the note that was inside the box. “What does ‘next time’ mean?”

My face flushed and I set the lingerie down. “Nothing.”

Dahlia laughed. “Oh my God, you dirty whore. What did you do? Did you have phone sex?”

“No, not really.”

“You did!” Dahlia and Ivy both squealed.

“It wasn’t really phone sex...he just asked me to...”

“What?!” Dahlia said, “Just spit it out, girl.”

“I stood at my open window and touched my boobs okay?”

“He was outside your window?” Ivy asked, wide-eyed.

“Yes.” I sat on the bed, mortified with embarrassment.

Both my friends squealed again, and Dahlia grabbed me and pulled me down onto my back. “You are officially a slut, like the rest of us.”  I couldn’t help laughing as my two friends jumped on me, giggling.

“Have you guys done anything like this?” I asked.

“I let Dave Adams tie me up,” Dahlia said.

I sat up. “Who’s Dave Adams?”

“He was three years ahead of us.”

“How was it?” Ivy asked.

“I orgasmed so hard.” Dahlia fanned herself. “I’d do it again in a second. It was so liberating to let go of control.”

“It was the opposite for Greg and me,” Ivy said, “I tied him up, and I spanked him with a horse whip I bought at a sex shop.”

I gaped at her. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Why?”

“You just don’t seem the type.”

She laughed. “Hey, don’t let the perky ponytail fool you, I’m all sexual deviant underneath.”

“The bravest I got with Jordan, was having sex in his car in front of my house.”

Dahlia picked up the teddy and tossed to Me. “Now’s your chance to let the freak flag fly.”

“I don't know.  It feels so...”

Dahlia arched one eyebrow dramatically. “Bad?”

I nodded.

“Go with it girl,” she said, “Be bad.  See how it feels.  You might like it.”

That night after locking my bedroom door, I put on the lacy teddy and G-string. I modeled in front of my mirror, checking out my butt. The fabric was surprisingly soft on. I thought for sure it would be uncomfortable and scratchy, but it wasn’t.

Black was a good color on me. My bronzed skin seemed to glow against the lace. And the way it was cut, made my boobs look fuller. I had to admit I looked damn fine in the getup. It made me feel pretty and sexy.

After I was dressed, I sat on my bed and stared at my phone. I was sure he’d call soon. He wouldn’t have given me the gift if he hadn’t planned on using it sort of speak. But after an hour of checking my phone and staring up at the ceiling, I got up and went to the window.

I opened my curtains a little and peered out at the dark street. Maybe he was waiting for me to show myself. Maybe he wanted me to take the initiative.  I couldn’t believe I was even thinking about all this, let alone doing it.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled open the curtains all the way, turned on the lamp beside me on the desk and stood in front of the window.  Anyone who walked by would be able to see me.

I stood there on display. My heart was hammering in my chest. My hands were sweaty. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I slowly turned in a circle, so my mystery man could see the whole effect of the outfit. My bare butt was now flaunted for all to see.

I turned back around, and that’s when I noticed Mr. Ramsey from down the block standing on the sidewalk in front of my house, his eyes wide, and his mouth open in shock. Even his little yappy Poodle had been struck dumb and quiet and he was looking up at me too.

Mortified, I quickly yanked the curtains shut and jumped on my bed and covered my face with my hands.

“Oh my God.”  I grabbed a pillow and hugged it to my chest.  “Oh my God.”

I’d never be able to show my face at the community picnics ever again. Oh God, what if he mentioned something to my mom or Mark. He probably wouldn’t though, because he’d just make himself look like a perv for standing there and staring at me.

I felt so stupid. What the hell was I doing? I was not behaving like a rational human being. I needed to forget about what I’d just done and go to bed.  I slid under the covers, and plumped the pillow up under my head.  But instead of going to sleep, I stared up at the ceiling and relived every single embarrassing moment of the past ten minutes.

––––––––

W
hen the alarm on my phone went off, I rolled over and hit the snooze button.  I stretched, rubbed at my eyes, and then sat up. I did not sleep well at all.  I didn’t know how long I just lay there staring into the dark, but it was long enough my butt cheeks to go numb and I had to turn over.  I thought I finally fell asleep around two.

I stretched again, rolling my head, and that’s when I noticed the single red rose on the edge of my bed.

I got to my feet, and stared down at it. Underneath the stem was a note. It read
Thank You
, in big bold letters. My mystery man had been in my room. He had broken in and watched me sleep.

Shivers rushed over my body and I had to wrap my arms around myself to try and calm myself. Fear definitely swirled in my belly, but God help me, so did excitement.

“He was in your room?” Dahlia asked as the three girls walked toward the school.

I nodded, too freaked out still to speak.

“What did the note say?” Ivy asked. There was concern in her voice, and that made me even more freaked out. If Ivy was thinking this was wrong, then it most definitely was.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for what?”

I shrugged. “For wearing the lingerie probably.”

“Oh my God, do you think he pulled back the covers and looked at you?”

Dahlia said, “Obviously.”

“Oh shit. What are you going to do?”

“Yeah, it’s gone too far,” Dahlia added.

“I don't know.  I can't tell my parents.  I feel really embarrassed and ashamed.  I don't think I could tell them.”

“Hey, this guy came into your home.  You're the victim here.”

“I just don't want to get into it with my parents. My mom will be disappointed I let it go this far.”

Dahlia put her arm around me.  “Are you sure it's not Jordan?  That sounds like something he would do.”

“No. It wasn’t him. I’d have known.”

“Maybe its yummy Patrick. He’d have a key to your house, wouldn’t he?” Ivy asked.

I didn’t want to consider it being Patrick. He was nice and charming and respectful. And I didn’t think he’d do anything like this, especially since it would jeopardize his job. No, I couldn’t believe it was him.

“All I know is I’m putting a stop to it, whoever it is.”

The rest of the day went by in a blur. I couldn’t concentrate on much. Thankfully, my classes had been light, as we were nearing the end of the school term. I had finals in two weeks and I figured I was almost prepared for them.  A few long nights of cramming and I’d be good to go.

I parked in front of my house, and got out. Dahlia and Ivy had wanted me to hang out with them at the mall after school, but I just wasn't feeling up to it. I needed to get my tee and shorts on and go for a long hard run to clear my head.

Before I could walk up the sidewalk to my front door, a jeep pulled up and parked behind my car, and Jordan got out.

“What do you want, Jordan?”

He joined me on the lawn. “You didn’t call me.”

“I've been busy.”

“Why are you playing games?”

I frowned. “Excuse me?”

“One minute you're cold, the next you're hot.  I can't keep up with you.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

He ran a hand through his hair.  “So are we going to get together or what?”

“No.” I turned to walk up the lawn to the front door, but he reached out and snatched my arm.

“Don’t walk away from me.”

“Let go, you're hurting me.” I’d never seen Jordan look at me like this before. Other boys on occasion. There was fury behind his eyes. And the quirk of his lips just made it worse. As if he enjoyed hurting me.

“I'll do more than hurt your arm, if you ever walk away from me again.”

I tried to pull away from him. “Let go!”

He yanked me to him, pulling me off balance. I struggled in his grip, then turned and kicked him hard in the shin. It wasn’t enough for him to let go of my arm. He lifted his other hand as if he was going to hit me.

But he never got a chance.

Devon stepped in beside me and grabbed Jordan’s arm. “Let her go.”

Jordan did let my arm go and stepped back. “What are you going to do about it, freak?”

“This.” Devon cocked his arm back and punched Jordan square in the face.

Blood erupted from his nose. He bent over and grabbed it with his hands.

“You fucker! You’ll pay for this.”

“I don't doubt it, but I suspect it won’t be today.”

With blood dripping down his chin, Jordan glared at both me and Devon. Then he turned and walked back to his jeep, and got in. Within seconds, he peeled away from the curb and roared down the street nearly hitting another car coming from the opposite direction.

I whirled on Devon. “What are you doing here?”

“What? No thank you?”

“Are you stalking me?”

He smiled at that. “Wow, you sure do think a lot about yourself, don’t you?”

I stared at him, still clutching my book bag to my chest. I didn’t know what to think about him. He was just so infuriating. When I thought he had done something nice for me, he came off as a complete jerk.

“Thank you for helping me.”

He looked me over, his gaze resting on my arm. I looked down at it and noticed finger marks on my flesh. “Does it hurt?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m fine.”

“Good.” He turned and started to walk away from me.

“Devon?”

He stopped and turned to look at me.

“I’m really glad you were here.”

He nodded, then continued his walk down the sidewalk.

I watched him until he turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.

The front door opened and Patrick came out. “Are you okay?” He walked down to meet me on the lawn. “I heard a commotion.”

“I’m fine. It’s over.”

I walked to the door, Patrick beside me. He was looking me over.

“Your arm is red.”

We went inside, and I dropped my book bag on the floor. “It was nothing. Just a misunderstanding.”

“Who touched you?” He clenched his hands. I’d never seen anger in him before. It was kind of frightening. He looked like a completely different guy.

I shook my head. “It’s okay, Pat. It’s over.”

“Was it Jordan?”

“I handled it. It’s over. It won’t happen again.”

“Vi, if...”

“Please don’t tell Mom or Dad, okay?”

He looked at me for a long moment, and then finally nodded. “Okay, but if I find out this has happened before or again...”

“I know. It hasn’t, and it won’t.”

He studied me a little longer, then finally swung an arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go make one of your disgusting smoothies and I’ll even drink it instead of make fun of it.”

I laughed, the reprieve was just what I needed right now. “Sounds good. And they aren’t disgusting; they are tremendously good for you. Full of vitamins...”

“Disgusting in other words.”

“Whatever,” I said, “You’ll like whatever I make.”

Together, we went into the kitchen and I could almost forget that Jordan had nearly struck me, and that Devon had been lurking mysteriously nearby and came to my rescue.

An hour later, we were both at the counter bar drinking mango and spinach smoothies. Patrick had made several faces as I put it together, and then made an even worse one with his first sip, but soon he was gulping the concoction down rapturously.

He made me relax and take my mind off the incident, but he’d also managed to get me to open up about my and Jordan’s relationship. At first I thought it was weird that he wanted to know, but after a while I found I needed to talk about it, especially to someone who was a completely unbiased and neutral bystander.

“It used to be good, you know.  He was a lot of fun.  Then he got all possessive and jealous.  I couldn't go anywhere without telling him first.”

“He sounds like a real douche.”

“He is now, that’s for sure.” I laughed.  “He even had the nerve once, to accuse me of neglecting him.  I suppose that was his reasoning when he slept with that slut.”

Patrick shook his head. “I hate guys like that. You are way better off without him Vi. You know that right?”

“I know.” I finished off my drink, and wiped my mouth. “Hey, thanks for listening. I can’t talk to my mom about this, and my friends just don’t get it. They think Jordan is worth the struggle.”

“They’ll learn when they grow up.”

I laughed. “Hey, I’m the same age and I’m grown up. You and I are only like 6 years apart, you know?”

“A lifetime.”

“No, it’s not.”

“I’m like an old man compared to you.”

I smacked him playfully. “Not even.”

He finished his drink, then ran a finger over the water ring on the counter. “Maybe we should hang out sometime.”

My eyes widened at that. “Ah, yeah, that would be awesome.”

“How about Friday?”

“This Friday?”

He nodded and smiled. “Yeah.”

“Sure,” I said, then frowned, “but damn, I promised Dahlia we’d hang out.”

“Bring her along.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it will be fun.”

“Okay. It’s a plan.”

“Great.” He stood and took his glass to the sink to rinse it out. “Oh, just one thing though.  I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Mark.  I don't know how he'd feel about me taking you out.”

“I’m sure he’d be fine with it.”

“Maybe, just keep it because us, okay?” He looked at me and I could see the urgency in his gaze.

“Sure. No problem. I’ll tell him I’m going with the girls.”

“Now, I should get back to work before I get fired.” He left the kitchen.

The second he was gone, I took out my cellphone and texted Dahlia.

Fri night. We’re going out

Her:
Sweet. Where?

Me:
A club